Merry Steve Christmas and happy holidays to all of you. We’re back with another rousing edition of everyone’s favorite game: “What’s going on with the Cincinnati Reds right now?” Enjoy!
Come join the family and support the podcast on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter: @redlegradio. Music for this episode provided by Freekbass, a big Reds fan and a friend of Redleg Nation.
You can listen to the podcast on this page, with the nifty little audio player just above. If you prefer, you can also go here to download it and listen at your leisure. For links to all previous episodes of Redleg Nation Radio, check out the podcast’s home page.
Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or whatever podcast device you use. Redleg Nation Radio is also available through Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn Radio.
Please subscribe, and give us a rating/review over at iTunes (or wherever you found us). If you like us, talk about us! However, if you don’t like us…maybe just keep your mouth shut?
Finally, Podcast-related questions and comments can be directed to me on Twitter or via email (dotsonc AT gmail DOT com).
“We will bring championship baseball to Cincinnati.
We will build one of the most respected organizations in baseball.
We will have a greater community presence.
We will rekindle the Reds Nation spirit.
We will not rest until you are happy….”
All hollow words, except for the community presence.
Red’s ownership should be ashamed.
I really believe that this team can win the way it is right now…with one exception. Bell has to go!! Everyone in the lineup didn’t forget how to hit. But they need to play all the time and not platoon them all. That is what hurt the team, no consistency!! Let the guys play, or toss Bell!
Well… for all those who say they want Votto traded, now you can point to “Bob must go” as the thing even more impossible than that.
Big Bob going anywhere due to the Reds stinking is as likely as Mark Cuban coming to the rescue and buying the Reds.
But hey, it’s Christmas, so might as well wish for the impossible now more than any other time
If the next CBA brings MLB more into line with the NBA and NFL operating models, someone like Cuban may want to own a franchise. As it stands, that’s not going to happen. So, for now, we’re stuck.
We need Yukon Cornelius, Hermey and Rudolph to save the Reds! Hey, they took out the Abominable Snowman, they can take out Abominable Bob!
+500 and Merry Christmas!!
Mele Kalikimaka to you and your family!
After the Reds blow the team up in this off-season they will have an Island of misfit toys to play their games!
The 2020 Reds offense and defense were sort of made up of a bunch of misfit toys.
I haven’t listened to the Podcast yet, but if the theme is “Bob needs to sell to someone who will spend more money”
If that’s the case, who would you like him to sell to?
a) a billionaire from Oregon who will move the team to Portland?
b) a billionaire from Tennesee who will move the team to Nashville?
c) a billionaire from Quebec who will move the team to Montreal?
d)…or?
Be careful what you wish for….
Merry Christmas all.
Well, if we were talking about the Mike Brown Small Family Business, which operates by making money on NFL revenue sharing, then i’d say yes to a through d and good riddance.
I don’t think there are too many folks wanting to put an MLB team in the cities you mentioned, are there? Or were those just examples?
Go Reds! And take the Bengals with you!?
I’m pretty sure moving the oldest franchise in organized professional baseball would be a very high hurdle to overcome. Remember all that would have to be negotiated on the way in and approved by the other owners.
I’m sure that moving a historic franchise like the Cincinnati Reds would be analogous to moving the historic Green Bay Packers where the only sizeable metro area is far distant Milwaukee. If new controlling ownership of the Reds is in the books, there is a lot money in the metro area with many of the wealthy being descendants of Procter and Gamble.
My kids and I have ownership shares in the Green Bay Packers. Milwaukee is just 2 hours drive south of Green Bay. I know that you are trying to make an analogous comparison between the Reds and Packers, but it is not valid.
The Reds are privately owned. The Packers are owned by hundreds of thousands of passionate fans that elect officers to run the club. If those officers run afoul of the majority ownership’s wishes, they are gone.
No one is moving the Reds, the franchise clearly wasn’t struggling financially pre-pandemic. And why also would you think a new owner would move a franchise to a worse market?
There are better markets than Cincinnati. Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Charlotte is a fast growing city.
Cincinnati is a small market that still has a million less fans in the stands each year than St Louis.
I also suspect that the Reds spending spree and the pandemic are combining to put the club is dire financial straights.
The Castellinis have done about as well as anyone can with this club. They greatly improved the fan experience and community presence. There was a period with Dusty of playoff baseball. They went to the playoffs this year and had as a good a shot as any of advancing. But it’s never translated to attendance.
But, even with some winning with Dusty, a better fan experience, and massive investments in the community, fans simply do not show up enough. The gap in revenue from Cincinnati to St Louis handcuffs this club.
People say we need an owner willing to spend money. With this franchise, who’s designed to break even, that mean the owners must kick in millions each year. That’s not sustainable.
Does that mean every decision has been smart?! Heck no. Votto getting hurt in two of his prime years was a huge let down. Now he’s being paid for his past performance, creating a huge hole in the budget. Not dismantling the Dusty team fast enough was another mistake. We all assume this was Bob C’s decision but we don’t know that for certain.
The Reds, financially, are in a position where they have to make perfect decisions for 4 years in order to compete in the 5th year (or somewhere close to that ratio), then deconstruct and do it again. And Reds fans continually demonstrate we will not show up for that sort of performance. We’ll read about it. Watch games on TV and listen on radio – but we won’t show up – not in a way that gives this team an advantage.
Save a massive change to the CBA, the only chance the Reds have is for the Bengals to leave town. That’s what I vote for every year.
Do you think all sports team owners are from where their team is located? George Streinbrenner is from Ohio, and went to Ohio State. Mark Cuban is from Pittsburg, and went to IU. Al Davis is from New York, and went to Syracuse. Just the 3 of the most popular owners. I’d imagine if you took the time to look up all the owners, you’d find many more.
I do not believe the theme is to “spend more money.” The ever present focus is upon the fact that Abominable Bob needs to STOP MEDDLING IN BASEBALL OPERATIONS!
I believe that Dick Williams was trying to put this club on the correct path, but Abominable Bob once again stepped into the middle of that path, AGAIN.
The Mets just rid themselves of the Wilpons. Our beloved Reds are not the only club that suffers from the yolk of oppressive, clueless ownership.
Nashville is presently in the Red’s “market.”
Portland has too many reds there now.
The last thing I want to see is the Reds (or Bengals) move out of town. However, I have to wonder whether either team can ever truly compete on a championship level with their current ownerships. And if that is the case, then having a professional team in Cincinnati is nothing more than an entertainment option on a given weeknight or weekend.
Would it be worthwhile to keep the Reds in town if they become the Pittsburgh Pirates?
MLB has made it pretty clear they don’t really care about tradition nor small markets anymore. Manfred and the owners wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if the Reds moved.
I agree with IndyRedsFan. Be careful for what you wish for. This franchise would immediately increase in value if it moved to a larger market. Castellini had great intentions, he’s done a lot for the community and they have made lots of nice improvements to the fan experience at the park but has been unsuccessful because of his front office decisions. I’d like to see him bring in someone from the Rays or A’s and rebuild the right way for this market. That would lead to some unpopular decisions like not signing players long extensions like Votto years ago and trading players at their peak like Gray and Suarez but it’s probably the only way they can be successful in the long run. It’s worth a try. Time for a new approach and whatever it takes to keep the team in Cincinnati.
What larger market?
Paragraphs, please.
The Reds aren’t going anywhere, y’all are crazy
“The Browns aren’t going anywhere, y’all are crazy” – Cleveland 1994
Jeez, folks there is too much over analyzing here. Abominable Bob needs to set the budget and get out of the way of baseball operations…
Or, sell his controlling interest.
and another +500 for doofus
Agreed. It really is that simple.
It is pretty hard being a Reds fan right now. Talk of trading the best players on the team. Cutting players that were certainly good enough to be solid parts of a succesful team. Now talk of moving to another city. But it is Christmas day. A reason to be thankful for a lot blessings. So let us look at the bright side. We still have the Reds as of now. We still have the star players. We still have the history and tradition of the oldest franchise in professional baseball. We still have this terrific site to hash out our differences . So Merry Christmas to all my friends here, and let’s enjoy our friends and families. Maybe just maybe the New Year will bring us a ton of wonderful things for our beloved Reds.
As I do every year for Christmas, all I ask for is to see one Reds playoff series win in my lifetime. Not even dare ask for a World Series appearance, I don’t want Santa to think I’m greedy.
And as it has been for every Christmas the last 25 years I awoke with such joy, hope, and optimism, ran downstairs reached in my stocking and.. for the 25th time pulled out a giant lump of coal….
The best thing that Bob can do is hire the right people, pay them well and stay out of the way.
If he truly has the passion for this team that he claims, then he should let those people run this organization.
It doesn’t take a 250 million dollar payroll to having a winning team. Tampa Bay and Oakland are perfect examples. It does take hiring the right people (GM, manager, scouts, etc) and letting them do their job.
Exactly1
Very true. The dodgers are not the best team due to spending a lot of money as well.
I am confused at times how last offseason is considered a good thing and shows that the Reds are trying to win. It seems to be the exact opposite of that.
The Reds will be spending over $40/million in 2021 on Moustakas, Castellanos, Miley, and Akiyama. They produced around 1 WAR. Add in $25 million for Votto and this team is broken. Yet, the thought is to do more of the same?
Not sure how signing aging average players to bad contracts is an example of trying to win. Keeping above average players with good contracts is a good idea. Trading Suarez is not a bad idea if you get prospects.
Have one plan and stick to it. The Reds have been all over the place the last two offseasons. That is not a good idea and this is the result.
With the new environment after/during the pandemic, those contracts to Castellanos and Moustakas are going to look really really really bad.
I personally think Bob C has done a pretty good job as owner of the team. 2010- 2013 was a good run for the team. I think things would have been a lot different for the reds had they beat the giants in 2012.
I felt the cueto and Frazier trades were reasonable at the time but just didn’t work out in our favor. The Chapman trade was indeed a big black eye.
I still think his legacy will be the Joey votto deal and in my opinion I think the deal was good for the reds, the city of Cincinnati and the game of baseball. I feel the 2014 injury really set him back and from a pure athletic standpoint he has neverer been the same. There was no way to predict that injury so I don’t fault ownership at all.
I don’t envy Bob c or any other Cincinnati team owner because we reds fans are a fickle bunch. The stands were half empty in 2019 when Jay Bruce clinched the division with his walk off. Likely because it was ” too cold” outside. Only 20k fans showed up for a July 4th game in 2019 when we were very much in the race at time. Likely because it was ” too hot” outside it. So it probably is hard to make a budget when you have such a whimsical fan base!
The problem I have with Votto’s contract is the length. If the Reds had given him 25 million for 5 years, then that would be a different story.
If you’re going to give a player a 10 year contract, then there’s no way you allow their agent to include a no-trade clause in it.
If Votto allowed the Reds to restructure his contract and spread out the remaining 75 million that he is owed over 6 years instead of 3, it would put the team in a better situation payroll wise, at least for the next 3 years. The downside of course, is they would be paying the last 3 years for a player that is no longer taking the field.
If the Reds had to sign Votto for 5 years then they would have had to pay $40M per year. Every single long term contract is set up to underpay at the front and “overpay” at the back.
They are currently still paying Griffey Jr. and Arroyo deferred salary annually, so the ownership is at least open to the idea.
You have a lot of word salad here to defend what cannot be defended, Abominable Bob.
You cannot blame the customer for not buying a product, if YOU build a bad product.
“Welcome to the party pal!” ~John McLane, in a famous Christmas movie.
I believe Castellini has done more for the Reds than the previous owner. Oh, I definitely believe he could have done some things differently. For instance, I would have left Jocketty at the door. For Krivsky and O’brien knew how to build the type of program we needed. But, Castellini seems to have been interested in spending some more money.
Oh, sure, people would love to have Castellini spend even more money till we get the All-Star starting 8 with the All-Star pitching rotation and All-Star bullpen. But, that will never happen, not with this organization, with very, very few teams in the entire league. So, those people simply need to be more realistic.
Next, with the latest trade rumors, no one has any idea of what we could get back. For instance, “trade rumors for Sonny Gray”, Oh My! “We’re getting back the top 3 prospects in the other organization”; I’d take that everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. People simply need to remember everything that goes into a trade. Rumors that a player may be traded? So what! Complete the question and answer, “For what?”
Next, with the moves that have been made, all clubs are doing similar. So, to make this all on Castellini is simply wrong. They have their economics that none of us are familiar with.
If anything, for me, I would like to see more openness on what direction the club is going. And, that can be defined by what actions are going to be made, if any. We were tied for 2nd in the division this past season, a significant leap, with a horrible offense. So, given that, I wouldn’t expect many moves to be done. If our offense can only get back to their “baseball card” stats, that would be awesome.
If anything, I would like to see more defined roles. I mean, I can understand that with the Big Red Machine back in, for example, 1975, they actually started together only about 100 games or something like that. But, everyone’s role was defined. Everyone knew who the “top starters” were at which positions. Everyone knew who the bench players were and what positions they could play, who the starting pitchers were, relievers, etc.
But, this team, so many questions? Who’s the SS? Who’s the CF? What about Senzel; where does he fit into all of this? Are we going after the Korean SS or not? But, these questions, I believe aren’t only on Castellini but also on Krall. And, Krall just started his position.
Thanks for listening!
The ownership is a disaster. The people they hire are just as bad. No one is being developed in the minors (pitchers or hitters). Castellini may mean well, but he has no baseball sense nor does the people that he hires. He should be able to figure it out, but he can’t. How many good pitchers has the Reds given away for nothing in return. They got bodies, but no players. None of the people we got for Cueto and Chapman are around anymore because they stunk. Finally the Reds got some good pitching again and they are trying to get rid of them. How about getting rid of the bad free agent contracts you recently made instead and keep the pitchers. Paying a lot for .230 hitters is dumb. Take Bell when you go Castellini. Also send Votto to the American league as a DH. He cannot hit anymore and was always a bad fielder and horrible base runner. Only guy I ever seen that cannot score from second base on a single to save his life. If he doesn’t accept a trade, bench him.